“We’ll see.” And with that as her only preamble, Monica bit into my wrist.

Chapter Sixteen

Monica’s bite hurt.

I’d experienced pleasurable vampire bites without being under the thrall and knew it didn’t necessarily have to be painful when a vamp sampled the wares. Granted, my dream-sex love nips from Holden weren’t exactly the best source to draw from. But this felt like two hot needles ripping at the thin skin of my wrist.

I tried to jerk away, but Monica held fast, her diminutive hands like little claws in my arm until she’d had her fill and pulled away with a satisfied ahhh. Cradling my hand near my chest as the wounds began to close on their own, I gaped at her like she’d…well…bitten me.

I knew I was here to give her my blood, but I thought maybe she’d poke me with her needle and take a dainty drop. She’d practically gnawed my arm in half. “I thought you said it wasn’t going to hurt,” I reminded her.

“I thought we were going to be honest here. So, I guess we both lied, Miss McQueen.”

She sat back in her chair, closing her eyes, and I got to my feet, making sure I was as far out of her reach as I could be while still remaining in the room.

“Interesting…” Her thoughtful smile vanished, giving me a glimpse of her true age in spite of the child’s face she wore. “Unique is certainly a word for you.”

“I told you.”

“But you left out so much.”

“And now you know why.” My wrist was whole and smooth again, but the sting of her bite lingered under the surface.

Monica licked her lips as if chasing a drop that might hold the answer to some unspoken question. She had all the answers she was going to get from me.

“How is it even possible?” she asked.

“You saw my past. You know as much as I know.”

“My dear, you shouldn’t be real.”

I shrugged, letting my healed wrist drop back to my side. I didn’t question whether or not she’d be able to see the gesture. Blind, maybe, but she knew precisely what was happening around her at all times. “Maybe I shouldn’t be, but I’m here.” There was no sense pretending anymore because I knew she’d tasted the whole truth of my history. Somehow a huge weight had eased off. Whatever would happen to me now, it was out of my hands. I’d avoided the inevitable as long as I could.

Now my fate was in the hands of an ageless child.

So much for Calliope’s theory that I’d have time to decide my own future. That was Monica’s job. For the first time, though, I was starting to think maybe the short lifeline had nothing to do with my werewolf blood and everything to do with this moment. I rubbed my thumbnail into the groove of my palm and waited.

“What a marvel. I thought there were no surprises left.” Then she laughed. She laughed louder and longer than she had with Sig, and the sound was pure joy. “Oh, darling. What a delight you are to me.”

“You’re welcome?”

“Come here.”

I didn’t want to, but I still went back to her chair, though I opted not to sit this time.

“Do you know how long I have waited for something to truly surprise me?”

“I’m not a big fan of surprises myself. There are too many of them in my life.”

Monica shook her head. “Live a few thousand years and you’ll see. Nothing will surprise you anymore, and the world will make you jaded. You make me feel young, really, honestly young again. What wonder.”

“Are you…um…?” I searched the air in front of me, closing my eyes and hoping to see the right words. When they didn’t come, I said, “Don’t tell the council.”

Still chuckling to herself, Monica retrieved her cross-stitch. “You have not betrayed the council to your lovers. You’ve told them you’re a vampire, which was more than you told us about your other half, though. I will tell the council you have kept as many secrets as you have shared.”

“You want me to tell them I’m a werewolf?”

“Heavens no, child. Are you soft in the head?”

“Then what?”

“I will tell Sig.”

“But he—”

Her white gaze pierced mine, freezing the confession in my throat. “I said I will tell Sig the truth. He is the head of the Tribunal, and his confidence is the only one I need to take. That is what I will tell the council. What he decides to share is his decision alone.”

“And Juan Carlos?”

“If he questions me, he knows I will bite him next. He wants me to bite him even less than I want to do it.”

Stupidly I stood in front of her, not sure what to do.

“Turn your doll around on the way out.”

“What?”

She pointed to the dollhouse and began stitching vines. I hadn’t seen her change the color, she was that fast. Clearly she was also finished with our conversation, although she continued chuckling to herself.

Beside the door I stopped and looked into the dollhouse. A small, pale figurine with curly blonde hair peered out at me. She hadn’t been there when I’d come in. Staring at Monica, I expected some kind of explanation. The vampire kept ignoring me until I turned the doll around and faced her into a corner so she matched the figures in the other rooms.

“Good luck, Secret,” Monica said then, as I opened the door. “I have the feeling you’re going to need it.”

Chapter Seventeen

The narrow hall outside Monica’s chamber was empty, but I knew Sig and Juan Carlos couldn’t be far away. I took the momentary reprieve to collect my thoughts. Leaning my head against the cool stone wall, I closed my eyes and breathed in through my nose a few times.

It couldn’t be that simple. There was no way.

Even the cold, textured surface of the wall couldn’t distract me.

This had been far too close for comfort, and I wasn’t stupid enough to believe it would be over so easily. Monica had said she’d only tell Sig, and Sig already knew the truth. But I’d obviously been sloppy enough to show up on the council’s radar. What a fool I’d been to believe I could get mixed up with the wolves and it wouldn’t eventually turn around to bite me in the ass in my vampire life.

It didn’t matter that Monica wanted to keep me out of trouble. For now. She was only doing it because I amused her. How long would it be before her amusement ran out and she thought it would be more fun to throw me to…well, not to the wolves, but to something much worse?

Was there a precedent for this situation?

What would the council do if they found out a half-werewolf was ruling over them? They had enough problems thinking I was half-human. This was going to be a mess.

I’d been spared the fallout for now, though, and that made me worry more than it would have if Monica had just outed me.

I crouched, still facing the wall, and pressed my forehead back against the stone. I was squatted like that when Sig and Juan Carlos came back down the hall. Even when they stood over me and I could feel the weight of their gazes, I didn’t look up.

“It went well, then?” Sig asked. His voice sounded shockingly loud given how quiet the hall had previously been. I was glad something was now louder than the throbbing of my pulse.

“It was great,” I said into the wall.

“What did she say?”

“She will tell you, and only you.” I swiveled my head to the side so I could look at them, and though my words were for Sig, I locked my gaze on Juan Carlos. He and I stared at each other, neither of us showing a glimmer of false friendliness. I was practically challenging him to say something. “Guess she doesn’t like Juan Carlos. Can’t imagine why.”

Sig—usually the parental figure who kept Juan Carlos and me from lapsing into childish slap fights whenever we were within five feet of each other—said nothing and walked on towards Monica’s chamber. When he was gone, the Spanish vampire and I continued to eyeball each other coldly.

Juan Carlos took two steps forward and came to squat beside me. Vampires weren’t like werewolves, and physical posturing had less to do with power. A wolf would never lower himself to my level because it would demonstrate weakness. Just like I’d never sit lower than someone I felt was beneath me in the werewolf totem. I was glad I didn’t have to deal with that bullshit right now. I had enough on my mind without it.

“What did she say to you?” He was parroting Sig’s earlier question, but he was much angrier.

“She said she liked my outfit,” I replied.

He leaned closer, well into my personal bubble, but I didn’t move away. I would prefer not to be close to Juan Carlos, but I also couldn’t yield to his fear tactics. I knew he wanted to see me quivering in my boots, but I had no intention of giving him what he wanted.

“You think you’re clever, don’t you?” His breath was cool and held the faintest scent of copper. He must have fed recently.

With lightning-fast speed, his hand darted out and clenched around my throat. I might be fast, but I had nothing on a full-blooded vampire, and when he squeezed, I let out a surprised gasp. I’d assumed he wouldn’t be thrilled by my response, but I hadn’t been expecting a violent reaction.

I tried to pull out of his grip, but his fingers tightened, and my windpipe began to yield to the pressure. Vampire blood or not, I still needed to breathe, so I stopped struggling and met his cold gaze. My breath escaped in short pants and felt raspy and painful.

“You’ve played me as a fool for far too long, girl. Did you think you’d be able to hide from me forever?”

Since I couldn’t speak I squinted, hoping my pissed-off expression would say everything my mouth was unable to.

“I know you’re not what you claim.”

That got my traitorous pulse tripping extra fast. I could keep my face impassive, but the fear kindling inside me couldn’t be repressed. My heart was hammering, and I couldn’t tamp it down. He’d probably have been able to hear it anyway, but with his hand clamped around my neck he’d be able to feel it too.